The impact levels of new and emerging macro trends are defined as emerging (likely to drive business needs in the future — keep watching), through maturing, to burning (you cannot afford to ignore — already driving new business needs).

There is a marked difference between digital natives and digital immigrants. Technology, particularly communication platforms, is deeply embedded into the lives of the younger generation now reaching adulthood. Societies are becoming more digitally connected.

The citizen / consumer is being empowered by participation in – and easier access to – the information that Web 2.0 enables.

Information is owned by the many. With universal and intensive use of the web as a discussion medium through blogs and other forums, neither companies nor individuals can control what is written about them. It is not easy to either seek out all the information or to influence the impression that it is making.

Opposing, and perhaps in reaction to, this trend towards individualisation are new ways of community-building. Much of this is taking place on the Internet, and Web 2.0 is an important carrier, helping the trend rapidly reach maturity. In everyday, offline life, however, things are moving more slowly.

As the baby-boomers reach retirement age, there will be a boom in the percentage of pensioners. In many countries the population is ageing. A trend may emerge which sees senior citizens will increasingly stay or return to the workplace, either because they want to or because they need to.

The traditional family unit is changing. There are more people living by themselves, or in one-parent households. It is interesting that there is diversity within political parties in relation to this trend.

Boundaries between work and home are blurring as technology enables us to connect to the office or home from anywhere. With intensive lifestyles, maintaining a good work-life balance becomes more complex as the two become intertwined.

Households in the West are increasingly multi-ethnic. This is creating all kinds of cultural tensions and reactions that are not always consistent.